Navy Capt. Robert Durand says that no doctors, nurses or corpsman at the prison have even voiced concern about the practice. He says they understand itís a lawful order meant to prevent prisoners from starving to death.

Officials say 104 of the 166 prisoners are on hunger strike as of Thursday. They are protesting their indefinite detention at the prison on the U.S. base in Cuba. Up to 44 are strapped down each day and force-fed liquid nutrients through a nasal tube.

The American Medical Association has said force-feeding prisoners violates medical values. An editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine urged military doctors to refuse the orders.